Sajid Javid has admitted that a senior Tory publicly urging Boris Johnson to quit has been “damaging”, as critics of the prime minister sought to maintain pressure on him after the embarrassing defection of a Conservative MP.
The health secretary said he wished the former Brexit secretary David Davis had not told Johnson at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday: “In the name of God, go.” The words echoed a plea made to the former wartime leader Neville Chamberlain in the Commons.
Javid said he had known Davis for many years and had huge respect for him. “We don’t always agree on everything and that is one thing I don’t agree with him on,” he told Sky News. “It is damaging, of course it is. If you said to me would I rather he didn’t get up and say something like that then, of course, I wouldn’t want to see that but that’s the decision he made.
“The prime minister has come to the House of Commons last week, he has set out and apologised, set out what has happened but most importantly I think he has asked for this investigation to be done, for the time and space to be given for it to be completed and the facts to be established.
“And once they are, the PM will come very quickly back to parliament and submit himself so David Davis, or anyone else, can ask … whatever question they want.”
Javid said he liked Christian Wakeford, the MP for Bury South who dramatically crossed the floor of the Commons chamber on Wednesday to sit with Labour having defected from the Conservatives, citing Johnson’s “disgraceful” conduct.
Many Tory MPs have been critical of Johnson’s handling of a slew of allegations about parties held in Downing Street and other parts of government during lockdown. However, they are seeking to trigger a no-confidence vote in Johnson by submitting the required number of 54 letters calling for such a ballot.
The latest estimate by Tory rebels is that about 30 letters have been submitted. Even if Johnson were to survive such a vote, the Guardian understands that the 1922 Committee, which administers the ballot, is considering changing the rules to shorten the length of time a prime minister is immune from another no-confidence vote from 12 months to six.
Javid told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the rule-breaking parties – such as ones held in No 10 the night before Prince Philip’s funeral – “damage our democracy”. He called the gatherings “wrong in every single way”.
Reflecting on Wakeford’s defection, Javid said: “I feel sorry for the people of Bury South, they voted Tory. I think a byelection would be welcome, I think Christian would be happy with a byelection.
“Given the people of Bury South rightly voted Conservative in 2019 – they wanted to get Brexit done, they wanted to see a strong economy – and now they’ve got an MP that has changed his affiliation without their permission, why not give them a say?”
Javid, who ran for the leadership in 2019, did not rule out doing so again. “There’s a good lineup of talent, I would say, in the party there and so there is no leadership election. We have got a PM, he is getting on with the job and that is what matters,” he told Sky News. “There is no leadership election.”
